Zoltan Bathory caught up with Music Radar to give the lowdown on the bands upcoming 10th studio album, Legacy.
As Five Finger Death Punch prepares to release its tenth studio album, Legacy, founding guitarist Zoltan Bathory has been reflecting on two decades of the band’s history in a new interview with MusicRadar.
From a new producer and an extended songwriting process to what fans can expect from the record, there were plenty of interesting revelations.
Here are five things we learned from the interview.
1. Legacy is designed to represent everything Five Finger Death Punch stands for
According to Bathory, Legacy isn’t just another album—it’s intended to be a snapshot of the band’s entire 20-year journey.
“It’s a massive milestone,” he said. “That’s how we look at it.”
Rather than trying to reinvent the wheel, the band wanted to create an album that captures the essence of Five Finger Death Punch.
“We wanted to create a record that says if you never heard us before, this is it right here. This is Five Finger Death Punch.”
2. The band worked with a new producer for the first time
One of the biggest changes for Legacy was behind the scenes.
For the first time, Five Finger Death Punch recorded an album without long-time producer Kevin Churko, instead teaming up with producer Drew Fulk.
Bathory explained that he already knew Fulk through other projects, making the transition feel natural.
“We made this record with Drew in California. We had never worked with him before, but I personally did with other projects, so that’s how we knew each other.”
3. They had more time than ever to write the new album
Unlike previous records, the band wasn’t racing against the clock.
Bathory revealed that they had “two or three years” to develop the material before narrowing it down.
Around 30 songs were written before the final tracklist was selected.
“The songs that you hear were picked out from almost 30 songs.”
That extra time allowed the band to carefully shape what Bathory believes is a definitive Five Finger Death Punch record.
4. Fans can expect everything from heavy riffs to slower songs
If you’re wondering what Legacy sounds like, Bathory says it showcases the band’s full musical range.
Asked which songs best represent the album, he immediately highlighted “Nails In The Coffin” and “Eye Of The Storm.”
He also pointed to “De Oppresso Liber” as one of the heaviest tracks on the record.
At the same time, Bathory stressed that the album includes slower moments too, reflecting everything Five Finger Death Punch has become over the last two decades.
5. The band’s proudest achievement isn’t measured in numbers
Five Finger Death Punch has built a huge global following over the past 20 years, but Bathory says the moments that stay with the band have nothing to do with sales or streaming figures.
He recalled meeting a teenage fan who handed him a red pen, explaining it was the pen he had used to write a suicide note before deciding not to go through with it after watching the band’s “Coming Down” video.
“That song is about suicide, and the theme of the video is a friend can save a friend – you just need to pay attention.”
Bathory revealed that around ten years later, the same fan returned to another show and reminded the band of their meeting. Frontman Ivan Moody had kept the red pen all those years.
Reflecting on the experience, Bathory said:
“When I talk about what makes me proud about this band, it’s moments like this. You look back on that and think, okay, we made a difference.”
Read the full interview
This article is based on an interview originally published by MusicRadar. You can read the complete feature here:
Read the full MusicRadar interview
What stood out to you most from Zoltan’s interview? Let us know in the comments.
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